Christopher King

Review of Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa

Stayed here for an on-site wedding. I had very hig...

Stayed here for an on-site wedding. I had very high hopes and expectations given the reputation, photos, and their commitment to service which unfortunately were not entirely met. Driving up, the hotel is beautiful and in a convenient Asheville location. We were greeted by a few polite valets while we checked in. Check in was lovely thanks to the agents. Decided to self park. Multiple different valets with the same questions - told all of them I'd self park in the garage and not one warned me that there was no way my sportier sedan would make it into the garage without scraping due to the approach angle. Definitely be aware of this if you're car is remotely low - would have been nice to know before I was committed to the garage entrance.
Hotel is breathtaking at first glance. We were extremely lucky to stay in the main section of the Inn, and I highly recommend it. The rooms are awesome given the hotels age, aside from the bathroom. Somehow in all these multi million dollar renovations, somebody approved of a cheap, dingy, drop tile ceiling and cheap fluorescent light in the bathroom - not what I expected given the rest of the room.
The wings which were added on for more guest rooms were a necessary addition, I'm sure, but are painful eyesores of the 80s relative to the gorgeous main building.
Our favorite part of the entire trip was the Blue Ridge Brunch on Sunday. The Blue Ridge brunch was absolutely wonderful and completely worth every penny. Getting a reservation early gave us an incredible seat by the windows.
I found some of the staff of the Inn was surprisingly condescending which caught me off guard but for the most part they were friendly and helpful. I'm sure one day we may come back for the breathtaking views, but I'm not in as much of a rush as I'd hoped to be.